Strengthening connections: A randomized controlled trial examining the impact of a supervisor support intervention on loneliness and military couple relationships

Abstract

Social connection has been declining across the general population (i.e., the “loneliness epidemic”), though some groups, including military personnel, are experiencing particularly high rates. This has led to calls for a multilevel national strategy, including workplaces, to build social connection (U.S. Surgeon General, 2023). To answer this call, the present study draws on the wise intervention approach (Walton, 2014), multidimensional model of social connection (Holt-Lunstad, 2022), and models of the bidirectional relationship between sleep health and relationship functioning (Gordon et al., 2017; Troxel et al., 2007), to deliver a workplace intervention that builds social connection for military employees and their romantic partners (N = 360 couples), using a cluster randomized controlled trial. The workplace intervention, combining supportive supervisor training (for family and sleep health) with personalized sleep feedback for employees, was found to improve social connection for both partners in the treatment group compared to the control group. Specifically, employees and romantic partners reported lower loneliness, and employees reported higher perceived partner responsiveness. We also investigated potential mechanisms of intervention effects, though significant indirect effects were not detected. Broadly, this work contributes to the loneliness intervention literature by demonstrating the efficacy of cultivating social support through one’s workplace supervisor, paired with individual sleep feedback. Clinical trial registry: NCT02946736.